China Tries Rights Lawyer, Barring His Kin And Counsel

By JIM YARDLEY

Published: December 14, 2006

An outspoken Chinese human rights lawyer was put on trial this week, accused of inciting subversion, but authorities kept such tight control over the proceeding that his lawyer and family were prevented from attending, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Gao Zhisheng, the human rights lawyer, was tried Tuesday at Beijing's No. 1 People's Intermediate Court. The proceeding lasted less than a day and was conducted in open court, but Mr. Gao's relatives and their chosen lawyer, Mo Shaoping, were never notified. No verdict has been announced.

Mr. Gao's trial occurred after rulings in two other controversial cases were announced this month in different Chinese courts. In Shandong Province, in eastern China, a trial court reinstated a guilty verdict against Chen Guangcheng, a blind legal expert who had spoken out against local abuses of population control policies. His lawyers complained that local officials had barred important defense witnesses from the trial.

In Beijing, an appeals court upheld a fraud conviction against Zhao Yan, a Chinese researcher for The New York Times, despite complaints from his defense team of having been prevented from presenting evidence and questioning witnesses. Mr. Zhao is serving a three-year sentence and is scheduled to be released next September.

This year, Chinese lawyers are facing tighter scrutiny under recent regulations that require lawyers to submit to government supervision when they represent clients in politically charged cases like disputes over land seizures, evictions, pollution and other issues. A recent Human Rights Watch report warned that such regulations undermined the fairness of China's legal system.

Mr. Gao, 42, is one of the most well-known dissidents in China. An outspoken government critic, he has written lacerating essays on the Internet, including predictions that the governing Communist Party will implode because of corruption and abuse of power. He has a flair for confrontation and has taken on cases that many Chinese lawyers would not dare touch, including representing advocates of the banned Falun Gong sect.

He was taken into custody in August and formally arrested on Sept. 21 on charges of inciting subversion. The authorities have not publicly specified the evidence against Mr. Gao or said whether he is being jailed for his writings or his actions as a lawyer.

Mr. Mo, the defense lawyer, has never been allowed to visit Mr. Gao in detention. The police said the case involved state secrets and cited regulations prohibiting defense lawyers from meeting with suspects in such cases until after a formal indictment. Prosecutors used the same rationale in refusing to release files on the case to the defense. Mr. Mo has challenged the restrictions and noted that the trial this week was held in open court, indicating that the case did not involve state secrets.

As recently as last week, Mr. Mo and another lawyer in his firm sought access to Mr. Gao. On Dec. 6, they filed a power-of-attorney motion signed by Mr. Gao's family. The next day, a judge notified them that Mr. Gao did not want a lawyer, but the judge refused to provide written verification signed by Mr. Gao.

At the hearing on Tuesday, Mr. Gao was represented by two lawyers appointed by the government. Scattered reports in the news media have suggested that Mr. Gao may have pleaded guilty to the subversion charge. Mr. Mo said he could not confirm those reports.

''Gao could have admitted to the facts as presented in court, but it doesn't mean he pleaded guilty to the charge,'' Mr. Mo said. ''It is unclear.''

Photo: Gao Zhisheng, a human rights lawyer charged with inciting subversion, in a 2005 photograph. (Photo by Miranda Mimi Kuo for The New York Times)